The word "Challenger" reverberated in Ji Wuye's mind, freezing his expression as he fell into deep contemplation before the hovering transparent screen.
If Varkos was not merely a being whose world had been devoured by the Tower of the Gods, nor a creation of theirs, but a Challenger...
Ji Wuye's brow furrowed deeply, the creases etching across his forehead as shadows darkened his features. His crimson pupils narrowed into slits, the intensity of his gaze burning as it rested upon the newly revealed description at the bottom of the screen.
His lips pressed into a thin line, jaw clenched tightly as the realization sank in. 'A Challenger. So this was the truth all along?' he thought silently.
A slight tremor ran through his body, betraying the turmoil churning beneath his stoic exterior. This shifted his entire perspective, shattering the foundations of what he thought he knew.
With a fluid motion, Ji Wuye reached out and gripped the great sword resting atop the anvil. Without sparing another glance, he turned and strode toward the newly opened corridor that led to the final challenge.
...
The moment Ji Wuye passed through the corridor, a wave of blistering heat surged toward him—thick and smothering, like the fiery breath of a slumbering beast.
The air was heavy with the acrid scents of smoke, molten rock, and something ancient, primal, that seemed to cling to his nostrils with each inhale.
What met him on the other side was a battlefield of immense proportions: a circular courtyard-like arena, eerily reminiscent of the challenges from the second floor, but on a grander, more imposing scale.
Yet this time, the environment was vastly different. The ground beneath his feet was forged of volcanic stone, cracked and partially collapsed under the relentless pressure of age and heat.
Rivers of bluish magma flowed through the fissures, their glow casting shifting shadows across the space, dancing like phantoms in the corners of his vision.
'This place used to be full of people,' Ji Wuye thought, a faint smile crossing his face as he pondered the scene from a previous timeline.
He them tilted his head back, gaze drawn upward by the sight of enormous iron chains, as thick as ancient tree trunks, dangling ominously from the cavern's yawning darkness above.
However... It was empty. No opponent in sight, no clue as to what lay ahead. The oppressive stillness hung heavy in the air, until...
A sound broke the silence, a low, resonant growl that seemed to roll through the very foundations of the cavern itself. "Grrrrmmm..."
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[!] Your passive skill, Quick Adaptation (B), has been triggered!
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A transparent screen flashed before Ji Wuye's glowing crimson pupils, his narrowed gaze shifting instinctively to the side as he caught sight of a guiding arrow.
However, his focus snapped wide open, pupils dilating slightly as his senses were overwhelmed by the colossal warhammer's shadow looming over him, its immense mass casting a darkness that swallowed his entire frame.
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BANG!
In a blur of motion, a massive shadow streaked through the air, followed by a deafening crash that shook the very ground beneath his feet.
The force of the impact flung a gigantic shadow backward, its body smashing violently into the volcanic stone chair lining the arena's edge.
Violent tremors coursed through the entire battlefield, shaking the enormous iron chains overhead until they clanked and groaned against one another in a cacophony of metallic protest.
The tremors disrupted the rivers of bluish magma flowing through the cracks, causing molten streams to splash upward in brilliant arcs before cascading chaotically across the heated ground, splattering and hissing as they met the cooler stone.
Ji Wuye stood unharmed, his long ashen gray martial robes—their edges adorned with glowing golden ember-like detailing—fluttering faintly in the residual heatwaves. Tendrils of smoke curled lazily around his form as he remained resolute, gripping the great sword in his hands.
However, his heart was pounding loudly, his eyebrows raised. 'That surprised me,' he thought to himself. At the same time, a transparent screen remained suspended before him.
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[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (B), has been triggered!
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Opposite him, a gigantic being began to rise from the debris, its form encased in dark, weathered metal armor etched with fiery textures that seemed to shift and undulate across its surface.
Glowing molten cracks ran visibly along the armor plates, emitting an intense, radiating heat that bathed the arena in a hellish light—the glow particularly fierce around its chest, joints, and the massive weapon clutched in its hand.
Its jagged helmet crowned its head, decorated with menacing horns that curved subtly upward. A glowing circular core, nestled into its chest plate, radiated a dazzling energy reminiscent of the cosmic heart of a Starforged Sentinel.
In one hand, the towering being gripped a massive, brutish warhammer—a weapon so colossal that it doubled as support for its mountain-like form as it slowly rose.
But...
SWOOSH!
Across the volcanic stone arena, Ji Wuye advanced steadily, his entire body cloaked in a faint bluish glow of Qi.
'Light feet, skim the ground, close the distance,' he muttered inwardly.
—————————————————————-
Cloudsoaring Step: Cloud Walking - Fourth Move - Breeze Sweep!
—————————————————————-
The scorching wind blew against his face, searing yet unrelenting, but in an instant, Ji Wuye crossed the vast distance, his movements so swift it seemed he glided on air itself.
Within moments, he stood directly in front of the mountain-sized Titan Guardian, whose massive, molten body was still in the process of rising to its full, imposing height.
'Twist the waist... shift the weight,' Ji Wuye's muttered inwardly as he harnessed the momentum coursing through his frame and twisted his waist sharply, pivoting then..
'Condense to the arc. Sweep low, disrupt balance.' His front-facing stance turned sideways, his next strike evolving into a low, sweeping motion.
The bluish Qi glowing faintly around his body shimmered in response, compressing and thickening like a swirling mist drawn into the flow of his motion. The Qi then concentrated intensely around his leg as it cut through the air in a sharp, decisive arc.
BOOM!
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Cloudsoaring Step: Cloud Walking - First Move - Cloud Drift Step!
—————————————————————-
The entire arena trembled violently under the force of his strike.
CLANG!
Above, one of the enormous chains hanging from the dark ceiling snapped loose. The broken links rained down, clattering against the volcanic stone.
BANG!
The chain crashed to the ground beside Ji Wuye, sending shards of volcanic stone scattering in all directions like shrapnel.
Simultaneously, the Titan Guardian's massive warhammer, which had been planted firmly in the ground as a balancing tool, toppled forward with a tremor that shook the very earth.
It struck the ground with an earth-shaking impact, landing directly in front of Ji Wuye's position in a plume of dust and debris.
On the other hand, The Titan Guardian being staggering backward and a massive indentation was carved into the surrounding arena wall as the Titan Guardian's body slammed into it, fragments of stone cascading from above in a thunderous avalanche.
‘Perfect,’ Ji Wuye thought with a faint smile. But his expression soon tightened into a frown. ‘It’s definitely gotten faster,’ he noted inwardly, his sharp eyes tracking the Titan Guardian’s movements with precision.
Slowly, he shifted his stance, lowering his body and planting his feet firmly on the trembling, volcanic ground. The heat radiating from the arena seemed to pulse in rhythm with the Titan Guardian’s growing power.
Then—
SWOOSH!
A blinding light flickered in his hand. In an instant, the great sword—the very weapon he had forged only moments earlier—materialized once more in his grasp.
The Titan Guardian's speed was astonishing—completely incongruent with its massive, mountainous frame. Compared to the Titan Guardian he had fought in his previous timeline, the difference was staggering.
"It's like comparing a dragon to a crane," Ji Wuye muttered with a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head in mild amusement. "One ascends the heavens with might, while the other soars with grace and speed!"
But, of course, he had already foreseen this possibility. This was precisely why he had struck preemptively, kicking the Titan Guardian and disarming its weapon before it could fully react.
It was then...
SWOOSH!
The colossal Titan Guardian, still embedded in the cracked and fragmented wall from Ji Wuye's earlier attack, suddenly began to shift.
Its once rigid armor started to flow unnaturally, as though the metal itself were melting and reforming, becoming more contoured and streamlined in a rippling display of malleability.
"RRAAAHHH!"
A ferocious roar tore through the cavern, echoing with a violent and primal fury that seemed to shake the very foundations. Flames erupted from its towering frame, the fiery energy growing stronger and hotter with every moment.
The once-smooth armor now revealed glowing veins of molten orange and red, cracks beginning to spiderweb across its surface as the infernal energy within started to seep outward, hissing and crackling.
Its eyes burned fiercely—two blazing orbs of fiery wrath that glowed brighter with its growing fury. Flames erupted sporadically from its joints and other armor openings, exuding an otherworldly heat that caused the ground around it to hiss and blister, small rivers of molten rock snaking outward.
